Joe Cole's second-half winner sank Wales and kept England on
course for World Cup qualification. Cole broke the deadlock after
53 minutes when his shot from Shaun Wright-Phillips' cross was deflected
past Danny Coyne by Danny Gabbidon. England dominated throughout,
but goalkeeper Paul Robinson needed to produce a brilliant save from
John Hartson to stop Wales taking the lead. Goalscorer Cole and
Wayne Rooney were both guilty of bad misses for England.
England, as expected, fielded a five-man midfield,
with Charlton's Luke Young replacing the injured Gary Neville. And
Sven-Göran Eriksson's side exerted almost total domination in the
opening stages, pinning Wales back in their own territory for long
periods.

Rooney almost ended the stalemate after 20 minutes, exchanging
passes with Steven Gerrard, but the youngster was foiled by Coyne's
block. Wales' main threat was coming from Hartson's aerial power,
and twice he came close to making England pay for failing to take
advantage of their supremacy. Ashley Cole's brave headed clearance
halted Hartson as he closed in on Giggs' cross - then it took a
magnificent save from Robinson seven minutes before the interval to keep
England on level terms. Hartson rose to meet another Giggs cross,
but Robinson somehow dived low to his left to turn the ball to safety.

Joe Cole missed a great chance to put England ahead on the stroke
of half-time, but he headed David Beckham's cross wide from only six
yards. He made amends - and underlined the value of Robinson's
save - when he put England ahead after 53 minutes. Beckham found
Wright-Phillips on the right and his cross was met by the incoming Cole,
who scored via a big deflection from Gabbidon.

Rooney then almost added a second instantly with a clever chip
that was tipped over by Coyne. Wales were having no impact on
England's defence in the second half, despite sending on Robert Earnshaw
for Simon Davies. England had made a change of their own,
mystifyingly replacing the lively Wright-Phillips with Jermain Defoe.

Wales managed to exert some pressure in the closing minutes,
forcing England into some scrambling defence, but John Toshack's side
lacked a real cutting edge. - BBC Sport

Source Notes

Trivia -
Owen Hargreaves was a substitute for the 21st time, equalling that of
Teddy Sheringham and Keiron Dyer.